Do You Need An Eye Cream? Dr. Cynthia Bailey Weighs In

Recently I featured a link list, and in it I asked what everyone thought about eye creams. Phyrra wasn’t sure if they were necessary for her. For me, they usually are, but on occasion they aren’t (pretty much when I am using a thick night cream I might skip this step). I definitely prefer to use them during the day since the extra hydration helps to apply concealer and I like extra hydration and tightening in this area.

Lucky for me (and us!), one of my favorite readers commented on the post. Her answer was so great, I decided that I couldn’t let it just be a comment, it needed to be highlighted for everyone to read! While I’m a physician, my specialty is pediatric critical care. I learned about dermatology in medical school, but it was a 1 week immersion in my second year. I got honors (yay me!), but that was the extent of my “formal” dermatology training. In my general pediatrics residency we obviously had a lot of parents bringing in their kids for rashes, acne and other skin conditions. The little bit that I know about adult dermatology is completely self-taught. I read dermatology review articles, text books and dermatology blogs to learn more about specific topics. I have a basic understanding of many derm topics, but no where near the level of someone actually practicing and trained in dermatology. So, when I get a comment from a dermatologist, like Dr. Cynthia Bailey, I’m always really excited to see what she has to say. Someone with actual knowledge! Who sees patients and reads the dermatology literature!

Dr. Cynthia Bailey is a dermatologist in Sebastopol, California. She was trained at UCSD (yes, this is very good) and was an attending there for a while before relocating to Sebastopol. I love that rather than hiding indoors or under a large amount of protective clothing at all times, Dr. Bailey has a “normal” outdoor life and is always on the go. She loves to be outdoors and simply adjusts her skin care routine as needed. Dr. Bailey has a very informative dermatology blog that even us mortals can understand, and even has her own on-line skin care store where she recommends products.

Here is what she had to say about the importance of eye cream:

Eyelid skin is a unique convergence of opportunity and need so I think eye creams are important. The eye area is one of the first places on the face to show the signs of aging. Plus, eye area skin is very thin and so will absorb more of the active ingredients in skin care products. It’s a great place to invest in the best product you can, but you need to know what to look for. In addition, the fine texture of the eyelids allows skin surface modifying ingredients to make a real change in how the skin looks right away.

Eye cream ingredients I look for are: 1. sodium hyaluronate and glycerin for hydration because they plump out crinkled, dry skin 2. antioxidants like green tea for anti aging (oxidation) protection 3. caffeine, vitamin K and arnica to help puffy redness, 4. dimethicone and acrylates to smooth out the surface appearance of the eyelid skin

Of course you always need sun protection on top (mineral sunscreens get my vote for full UV protection)or this area will really wrinkle as time goes.

I wish I started using eye cream a long time ago, not after I already started showing the signs of aging there. However, I have to say, it's pretty much impossible not to irritate my eye if it contains sunscreen.

I just read the comment from Beauty Girl and would recommend that sunscreen sensitive people try eye creams without sunscreen. My advice is to push for the best ingredients for your eye area issues. Add your sunscreen on top of your eye cream and look for mineral sunscreens because they are more inert than the chemical sunscreens, meaning that they are less irritating. Look for sunscreen products made entirely (or mostly) or zinc oxide or titanium dioxide. In addition to being less irritating, these mineral sunscreen particles actually deflect light and so they help in hiding skin imperfections. Plus, they're a great base for makeup.